Banksy Dismal Aid Sign Disappears from Calais !

Anika Dačić graduated in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade and is currently pursuing MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. Her interests lie in social and cultural aspects of contemporary art production and she especially enjoys writing about street and urban art. Likes to knit, play adventure video games and host quiz nights at a local bar.

Remember that time when there was nothing in the news but Banksy’s Dismaland? Well, apparently, once it stopped being an attraction and was turned to the migrants’ shelter nobody really cared about it anymore and it’s been a while since we had any news coming from the refugee camp inCalais, France. Until today. Reportedly, the end of Dismaland saga isn’t near and it will definitely continue in the future. Why you may ask. Well as soon as the Dismaland sign was installed in the Calais “jungle” camp, someone decided that it would be better off on eBay.

Dismaland Sign Vanishes From the Calais Camp

Let’s take a step back for those who might have missed the closing of the Dismaland Bemusement Park. The biggest tourist attraction Britain has seen in years, which turned out to be a rather disappointing venue for those in search of amusement, got its happy ending in the notorious migrants camp in the French port of Calais. Dismaland closed a couple of weeks ago, and all materials that could be helpful were sent to build shelters for thousands of migrants from Syria, Libya and Eritrea, settled in Calais. It was a nice way of showing support to those in need and a political statement about the incompetency of government officials to deal with the humanitarian crisis that has been shaking Europe for months. But do migrants truly need the Dismaland sign? What good will a couple of letters bring to the camp? Someone decided to play smart and find them another purpose, and the Dismaland sign disappeared overnight.

Stealing Banksy from the Refugees

It’s not unusual to see Banksy’sworks disappearing from their public spaces. We know how much money has “stealing Banksy” brought to the individuals and groups over the years. The Dismaland sign might be next in line, as the commentators of the recent theft suppose that the individual responsible for the theft will probably try to cash in the letters and sell the sign on eBay, or wherever is more convenient. But there is a twist to the story. During the installation of the Dismaland lettering, the sign was altered to read DismalAid and a couple of letters were lost in translation. One of the British workers who was transferring the materials to the camp took the latter I and he is keeping it secure in order to spoil the thieves from getting any profit. No one is going to buy Dsmaland sign right? It does look kind of weird.

Banksy’s take on the migrant crisis in the Dismaland Bemusement Park. Photo via buzzfeed

When Banksy Enters the Story, Controversies Follow

Anyway, let’s return to our story. As the reports from the spot show, Dismal aid sign was also annoying to the volunteers who saw Banksy’s initiative as nothing more than the attention seeking endeavor and if he truly wanted to help, he would donate money to the camp, because we all know how well off he is now. Who is right in this particular case? At the end of the day is it all about the money and profit and isn’t it a little bit sad that the artist is being condemned for trying to do something at least, while the rest of the world stays silent and just waits idly for the migrant crisis to pass or move to someone else’s country. Finally, does Banksy truly needs any more attention from the media?

Is Banksy the attention seeker and do you think it’s ok to steal from the refugees? Please leave a comment on our Facebook page!

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